Are Puerto Rico MD schools considered a US school?

[LebLlama]

I'm confused. Puerto Rico is technically part of the USA. Puerto Rico schools are in the MSAR and none of the "big 4" are in the MSAR. They're also participants of AMCAS.

If you go to a puerto rican school, is it just as good as going to, say, a low end school in the US? How does that work?

Is a school in Puerto Rico better/worse/same as the big 4?

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[JonathanMD]

You're a very confused person.

Yes, Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. Not just technically. It is. If you graduate from a Puerto Rican school, you don't just technically graduate from a U.S. school, you have graduated from a U.S. school.

It's not just "just as good." It just is.

You keep fudging your wording, for some reason.

Also not sure why you just assume that those schools are are the very, very bottom of U.S. schools. I haven't looked up their stats, but they could fall anywhere in the rankings.

This thread should be in the pre-med forum, not the Caribbean one.

 

[schandan13]

US Schools have LCME accreditation. Therefore, US MD=US MD=US MD, even if you go to Ponce. You will be considered an AMG after you complete your MD. The "technicality" doesn't really apply.

Big 4 are NOT LCME accredited.

As for better or worse, it's not a question of how their standard of education/teaching is, it's a question of what opportunities you'll have in terms of residency.

Ponce has probably one of the lowest GPA/MCAT requirements of all US MD schools and you should definitely be fluent in Spanish if you plan on attending it. Probably that's what makes it "not as good as" other US MD schools.

But as i said, it's the LCME accreditation that matters.

Hope that clears out the confusion.

 

[Shoushu]

US Schools have LCME accreditation. Therefore, US MD=US MD=US MD, even if you go to Ponce. You will be considered an AMG after you complete your MD. The "technicality" doesn't really apply.

Big 4 are NOT LCME accredited.

As for better or worse, it's not a question of how their standard of education/teaching is, it's a question of what opportunities you'll have in terms of residency.

Ponce has probably one of the lowest GPA/MCAT requirements of all US MD schools and you should definitely be fluent in Spanish if you plan on attending it.

yes Big 4 are considered foreign schools, you'd be IMG. Big 3, however, are the only 3 foreign schools that can receive Federal loans right? So if money's low, go to big 3 for low % loan.


Do all Puerto Rico schools only teach in Spanish?

 

[schandan13]

yes Big 4 are considered foreign schools, you'd be IMG. Big 3, however, are the only 3 foreign schools that can receive Federal loans right? So if money's low, go to big 3 for low % loan.

That's correct. But money should really not be the criteria. Even if you'd be 400K in debt after attending a US school, do it.

Do all Puerto Rico schools only teach in Spanish?

I believe the medium-of-instruction is English. But, in general, you'd be better off (culturally mixing up, speaking to patients etc) if you know Spanish well.

 

[LebLlama]

from their posts, johnathanmd and schandan are likely doormats in real life, pushed around by even the meekest of people and they only feel confident/in control on the internet.

 

[schandan13]

from their posts, johnathanmd and schandan are likely doormats in real life, pushed around by even the meekest of people and they only feel confident/in control on the internet.

You're not going to get anywhere with a 20O. How about we stop narrowing down "good" / "as good as US" schools and make ourselves more competent first ?

Try and be appreciative of someone when they take 2 mins to reply to your mind numbing queries. You will go further in life.

 

[JonathanMD]

from their posts, johnathanmd and schandan are likely doormats in real life, pushed around by even the meekest of people and they only feel confident/in control on the internet.

Um...

You're welcome and good luck with the admissions process.

 

[LebLlama]

Why waste your time answering someone's question if you're going ride your high horse and to attempt to put them down in the process? Clear sign of your characters. Though I can understand people like yourselves are in desperate need to feel empowered somewhere in this cruel, cruel world, even if its online.

In the event I post more questions, I don't want either of your input. Thanks.

And yes, I will get in.

 

[CaribKid]

Why waste your time answering someone's question if you're going ride your high horse and to attempt to put them down in the process? Clear sign of your characters. Though I can understand people like yourselves are in desperate need to feel empowered somewhere in this cruel, cruel world, even if its online.

In the event I post more questions, I don't want either of your input. Thanks.

And yes, I will get in.

Sigh. Since this seems to have gotten petty, and I am taking a break from studying, I thought maybe I would weigh in.

LebLlama, I have read the many questions you have posted recently. I believe that part of the frustration other posters have shown with you is that this information is readily available on the Internet (with a quick Google search) or can be answered by your pre-med advisor. I am not casting any judgement whatsoever, just stating the fact that I think this is why you may be getting some negative feedback. Also, taunting someone with the "spainish" thing might not be conducive to getting your questions answered.

As to the information everyone has provided you with - it's all correct, particularly the part about LCME accreditation. If you are fluent in Spanish, this could be an option. If you are not, then it most likely will not be the best medical school experience.

The one thing I would note is that when people quote the IMG 50% match rate, it's not quite the truth (although this is a legit NRMP number). Keep in mind this includes ALL IMG's, not just the Big 3 (4). Their match rates are much higher. AUC, the school I attend, is around 85% or so, keeping in mind this information is not readily available. This is what we are told by the administration. I believe RussianJoo gave you some stats for St. George's in another post.....you should pay attention to that, as he knows what he is talking about. And, of course, 85% is a lot lower than the 99% of US MD schools.

Finally, your MCAT. Not good. Since your GPA is quite good, you should take the MCAT again. Score 30 or above, you have a good chance for a US MD school. For AUC, our most recent class had a 26 MCAT, if this helps you at all. For other Match questions, see a post called "You guys should do DO, NP, or PA over Caribbean MD" or something like that. My post is a bit lengthy, but gives my general opinion about Caribbean schools and the Match.

Good luck with your applications.

 

[JonathanMD]

Why waste your time answering someone's question if you're going ride your high horse and to attempt to put them down in the process? Clear sign of your characters. Though I can understand people like yourselves are in desperate need to feel empowered somewhere in this cruel, cruel world, even if its online.

In the event I post more questions, I don't want either of your input. Thanks.

And yes, I will get in.

Oh, boy.

You opened the thread with "I'm confused" and the little embarrassed face o), like you were sarcastically riding yourself. I replied with "you're confused" and copied the little embarrassed face, and sarcastically continued to ride you.

Good luck with the admissions process.

 

[schandan13]

And yes, I will get in.

I never said you won't. I said, with 20O, you won't.

Goodluck anyway.

 

[schandan13]

Sigh. Since this seems to have gotten petty, and I am taking a break from studying, I thought maybe I would weigh in.

LebLlama, I have read the many questions you have posted recently. I believe that part of the frustration other posters have shown with you is that this information is readily available on the Internet (with a quick Google search) or can be answered by your pre-med advisor. I am not casting any judgement whatsoever, just stating the fact that I think this is why you may be getting some negative feedback. Also, taunting someone with the "spainish" thing might not be conducive to getting your questions answered.

As to the information everyone has provided you with - it's all correct, particularly the part about LCME accreditation. If you are fluent in Spanish, this could be an option. If you are not, then it most likely will not be the best medical school experience.

The one thing I would note is that when people quote the IMG 50% match rate, it's not quite the truth (although this is a legit NRMP number). Keep in mind this includes ALL IMG's, not just the Big 3 (4). Their match rates are much higher. AUC, the school I attend, is around 85% or so, keeping in mind this information is not readily available. This is what we are told by the administration. I believe RussianJoo gave you some stats for St. George's in another post.....you should pay attention to that, as he knows what he is talking about. And, of course, 85% is a lot lower than the 99% of US MD schools.

Finally, your MCAT. Not good. Since your GPA is quite good, you should take the MCAT again. Score 30 or above, you have a good chance for a US MD school. For AUC, our most recent class had a 26 MCAT, if this helps you at all. For other Match questions, see a post called "You guys should do DO, NP, or PA over Caribbean MD" or something like that. My post is a bit lengthy, but gives my general opinion about Caribbean schools and the Match.

Good luck with your applications.

What a great way to sum it up. And yes, the 50% is taking the 2 dozen Caribbean schools into account. As for the Big 4, the stats are a lot better.
Still nowhere near the 97% it is at US schools.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Sigh. Since this seems to have gotten petty, and I am taking a break from studying, I thought maybe I would weigh in.

LebLlama, I have read the many questions you have posted recently. I believe that part of the frustration other posters have shown with you is that this information is readily available on the Internet (with a quick Google search) or can be answered by your pre-med advisor. I am not casting any judgement whatsoever, just stating the fact that I think this is why you may be getting some negative feedback. Also, taunting someone with the "spainish" thing might not be conducive to getting your questions answered.

As to the information everyone has provided you with - it's all correct, particularly the part about LCME accreditation. If you are fluent in Spanish, this could be an option. If you are not, then it most likely will not be the best medical school experience.

The one thing I would note is that when people quote the IMG 50% match rate, it's not quite the truth (although this is a legit NRMP number). Keep in mind this includes ALL IMG's, not just the Big 3 (4). Their match rates are much higher. AUC, the school I attend, is around 85% or so, keeping in mind this information is not readily available. This is what we are told by the administration. I believe RussianJoo gave you some stats for St. George's in another post.....you should pay attention to that, as he knows what he is talking about. And, of course, 85% is a lot lower than the 99% of US MD schools.

Finally, your MCAT. Not good. Since your GPA is quite good, you should take the MCAT again. Score 30 or above, you have a good chance for a US MD school. For AUC, our most recent class had a 26 MCAT, if this helps you at all. For other Match questions, see a post called "You guys should do DO, NP, or PA over Caribbean MD" or something like that. My post is a bit lengthy, but gives my general opinion about Caribbean schools and the Match.

Good luck with your applications.

85% match rate for AUC or the big 3 is very good...26 MCAT average for AUC is quite high..Don't believe everything they tell you.

 

[CaribKid]

I can understand a little bit of skepticism, mostly due to the stigma of a Caribbean school. However, the school does require everyone to supply a MCAT score which must be verified when they apply. So, it's either a massive conspiracy which would involve the entire Admissions Committee, most of the faculty, and the school administration.......or it's just true. I tend to think it's easier for things to be true rather than get 30-50 people to all tell the same lie and never waver from it, especially when such a lie would compromise their professional integrity. And let's face it......with the average MCAT for US MD being 30 or greater, is an average of 26 really that high? Finally, Congress is seriously looking into Caribbean schools' stats where they provide Federal loans. I doubt this is the time that schools are going to lie about MCAT scores. It's just not worth it.

I agree that an 85% match rate is good. However, pre-match and going into mostly Primary Care residencies may have much to do with that.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

I'm confused. Puerto Rico is technically part of the USA. Puerto Rico schools are in the MSAR and none of the "big 4" are in the MSAR. They're also participants of AMCAS.

If you go to a puerto rican school, is it just as good as going to, say, a low end school in the US? How does that work?

Is a school in Puerto Rico better/worse/same as the big 4?

If you speak spanish, you would be better off to go to MD school in Puerto Rico instead of the BIG 4 as Puerto Rican MD schools are LCME accredited ie less trouble to find residency. Any school that is accredited by LCME is considered to be "better" than the BIG 4. A 24+ MCAT would be good for PONCE, SAN JUAN BAUTISTA AND UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DEL CARIBE. Don't even bother applying at University of Puerto Rico because they only take instate applicants.

 

[BestDoctorEver]

I can understand a little bit of skepticism, mostly due to the stigma of a Caribbean school. However, the school does require everyone to supply a MCAT score which must be verified when they apply. So, it's either a massive conspiracy which would involve the entire Admissions Committee, most of the faculty, and the school administration.......or it's just true. I tend to think it's easier for things to be true rather than get 30-50 people to all tell the same lie and never waver from it, especially when such a lie would compromise their professional integrity. And let's face it......with the average MCAT for US MD being 30 or greater, is an average of 26 really that high? Finally, Congress is seriously looking into Caribbean schools' stats where they provide Federal loans. I doubt this is the time that schools are going to lie about MCAT scores. It's just not worth it.

I agree that an 85% match rate is good. However, pre-match and going into mostly Primary Care residencies may have much to do with that.

You would say that MCAT average for AUC is the same as DO schools in the US. It might be true; but I have a hard time believing that. The 85% match rate might be true though as you point out that 70%+ go into primary care

 

[Shoushu]

You would say that MCAT average for AUC is the same as DO schools in the US. It might be true; but I have a hard time believing that. The 85% match rate might be true though as you point out that 70%+ go into primary care

yes the harsh reality is caribbean m.d.s have to settle for less lucrative (primary care) residencies. But if all they want is surgery and anesthesia etc, can they not re-train as specialists later on? Is there a rule against being a resident a second time later in one's life?

 

[dragonfly99]

yes the harsh reality is caribbean m.d.s have to settle for less lucrative (primary care) residencies. But if all they want is surgery and anesthesia etc, can they not re-train as specialists later on? Is there a rule against being a resident a second time later in one's life?

People definitely do sometimes do this (do a 2nd residency). People from US MD and DO schools do this too. However, this is pretty hard to do, often, as a lot of residencies want a "fresh" new med school grad because they think he/she will have more energy and perhaps be easier to teach. People tend to get burned out also after 1 residency, and most would not want to do back and redo the whole residency process. Anesthesiology is a 4 year residency but the 1st year can be a prelim internal medicine or surgery year (or if you've already done 3 years complete IM residency or something, you could enter anesthesia residency as a 2nd year resident, i.e. skip the 1st year). Anesthesia, from what I've seen, does tend to sometimes take people who already did a prelim year, or a year or two of surgery, or occasionally a whole IM residency. However, the vast majority of spots tend to go to new med school graduates, so one can't count on getting a spot later.

Also, the residency programs will be paid less (my Medicare/the US gov't) to train a resident who has already completed a residency than one who has never done any residency training. This makes a lot of residency programs not so apt to take someone who has already completed one residency. This makes sense from the gov't point of view...they would rather pay the least amount of money possible to train doctors, and they don't necessarily want to pay for you to do more than one residency.

 

[dragonfly99]

Indicentally, agree with Schandan and jonathanMD...OP is biting the hand that feeds him/her, and I agree the current 20 MCAT is not going to get him anywhere. Could better spend his time studying or something, versus a whole bunch of internet posts...